This invention relates to a device for modifying human behavior. The invention is suited for modifying human behavior while operating vehicles, in the workplace and at home. The invention is likewise suited for reducing aggressive driving behavior, for example, for avoiding escalation of aggressive behaviors that lead to unsafe aggressive driving, commonly known as xe2x80x9croad ragexe2x80x9d.
Attempts have been made to modify human behavior by praising the behavior with compliments (xe2x80x9cpositive strokesxe2x80x9d) and/or by criticizing undesired behavior (xe2x80x9cnegative strokesxe2x80x9d).
Under most situations, it has been found that praising individual""s attempts at or exhibiting desired behavior with positive strokes yields the desired behavioral change more quickly and for a longer-lasting period of time, if not permanently, than by criticizing the undesired behavior or providing xe2x80x9cnegative strokesxe2x80x9d. It has also been found that giving no strokes is more powerful than giving negative strokes.
In the field of automobiles, many vehicle operators have been angered by other vehicle operator""s behavior or simply by road driving conditions, stop lights, and the like, since the days when vehicles became commonplace and rules of the road came about in the twentieth century.
It is known that under certain conditions, a segment of the vehicle driving population may become so annoyed by other""s driving, or by circumstances beyond the operator""s control, that the annoyed vehicle operator will engaged in non-standard, aggressive driving behavior and/or yelling, and the like.
If such aggressive driving behavior is not reduced in a timely fashion, the aggressive driving tends to escalate due to an ongoing exchange of negative strokes between, for example, two vehicle operators. Owing to the exchange of negative strokes, the aggressive driving tends to escalate, often to the point of so-called xe2x80x9croad ragexe2x80x9d.
Typical negative strokes involved in driving include such acts as yelling, sudden braking, frequent braking, following too closely behind another operator""s vehicle (i.e., so-called xe2x80x9ctailgatingxe2x80x9d), honking the vehicle horn, gesturing, changing lanes with inadequate room for safely doing so (i.e., xe2x80x9ccutting in and out of lanesxe2x80x9d), speeding, and the like.
Although there have been prior attempts at monitoring or controlling driving behavior, no known attempts have been made to modify driver behavior by the use of positive strokes, and cautions about the manner in which the vehicle operator is driving, for example.
There are known devices which are for monitoring limited aspects of operator and vehicle driving data.
Known examples of prior art devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,079 to Bouchard et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,800 to LeViness; U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,749 to Franklin; U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,403 to Apfel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,606 to Hara et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,892 to Antonellis et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,641 to Kawakami et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,926 to Berman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,290 to Kobayashi et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,072 to Ikeyama.
It can be seen that there is a need for a more versatile device, system, and method of monitoring driver behavior.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art devices.
It is further object of the invention to monitor vehicle operator data and to provide feedback to the vehicle operator and/or to another person and/or to a database.
It is another object of the invention to provide a vehicle operator behavior modification device which is more effective at achieving the desired result than known devices.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle operator behavior modification device which provides feedback directly to the vehicle operator at the time the monitored behavior occurs.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a vehicle operator behavior modification device which uses positive strokes to achieve the desired modification of behavior, and to remove all strokes should feedback be ignored.
In summary, the invention is directed to a device for modifying vehicle operator driving behavior that includes a sensor mountable in a vehicle. The sensor detects a vehicle driving condition which differs from a preset driving condition. A signal is operatively associated with the sensor and provides a notice to the vehicle operator when the sensor detects a vehicle driving condition which differs from a predetermined value. The signal is deactivated and stops providing the notice when the sensor detects the vehicle preset driving condition for a period of time which differs from a predetermined period of time.
The use of relative terms such as left, right, up and down is for convenience only and is not intended to be limiting.
For convenience, the vehicle operator modification device according to the invention is often referred to as a vehicle operator aggressive behavior reduction device.